I’ve always been a more spontaneous, and not very organized person. While I did rely on planners, schedules and calendars to be successful during my student years, I never made much use of organization tools for my own personal life.
Once I started a family, bought a home and began raising two kids, I became overwhelmed with the amount of to-do lists constantly running through my mind. I realized that I needed create a more organized life to allow myself the mental space to enjoy my life and motherhood.
Building an organized life, and maintaining it, isn’t as hard as you might think. Of course, it will require planning and some time to set it up but once you’ve got the following seven key tools in place you will feel more focused and in control of your life and time.
Paper Planner
Yes, even in the age of digital organization a paper planner does still have a place in your organizational tool chest. It doesn’t have to be big and bulky or expensive. It can be very satisfying to manually write down your goals and to-do lists, and to check them off as you go. My preference is to create my own binder and use printable planner pages to completely customize my planner for my needs and priorities. Your paper planner can include tasks and items that you want to keep a close eye on, as well as for making notes and lists.
To Do List
A to-do list is going to be an essential tool to keep your life on track, running smoothly and perfectly organized. My preference is to use a paper, printable To-Do list, especially for days when I feel busy with lots of different tasks/chores that I need to get done efficiently. Paper lists are great as you can carry them with you or display them where you can’t miss them. I like to include them in my binder and take the list out to carry with me or to display it during the day to stay on track .
You can also use a to do list app that can help you create, monitor and organize your lists on your phone. One great option is Todoist which you can use for free.
Meal Planner
Once you have kids, meal times can become difficult, not only due to having more limited meal choices due to picky eaters, but even just the act of cooking can cause stress, when you have a baby or toddler that requires constant attention. So spending some time during the week to plan out your meals, will allow you to come up with kid-friendly meals that will work for your family. I try to find recipes that are quick and simple. I use a printable page to plan out our meals for the week, with a section to write down a grocery list at the same time. I then display the Meal Plan in the kitchen for easy access.
Online Calendar
In addition to the paper planner, an online calendar or app for your smartphone, is another essential. This handy tool will be with you everywhere that your phone goes and has the added benefit of being able to give you alerts for meetings and scheduled tasks.
A shared online calendar (such as Google Calendar) can also be a great tool to keep track of and coordinate important dates and events/appointments between you and your partner. Being able to quickly consult each others’ calendars will save you time and can help avoid appointment/event conflicts.
Financial Planner
I highly recommend using a financial planner in which to record your income, expenses and savings. You can keep a track of bills due with a monthly bill payment calendar to ensure that you never miss making a payment again. My preference is to again use a paper, printable financial planner that I keep within my main planner/binder.
If you don’t want to have a paper planner for your finances, then there are lots of financial planning and management apps available online. One such tool is Good Budget which is a free app for iPhone and Android.
A Fitness Tracker/Planner
I’ve found that as a busy mom, it is easy to lose track of my own fitness/wellness routine. I firmly believe that our health is one of our most important assets in life, and we must make time in our schedules to stay healthy and fit.
I have a dedicated Fitness, Wellness and Self-Care section in my planner, and I make time to write down my health and wellness goals, create a plan and schedule, and track my progress. A health and fitness tracker can help you monitor your exercise as well as your diet, water intake, emotional state, etc.
If you prefer using an online tool, My Fitness Pal is a popular free online tool with Android and iPhone apps. It contains a huge food database for tracking what you eat and you can create a personalized diet profile, and track your exercise.
Evernote
This handy tool is free but does have a paid option that provides more functionality. However, for most people the free version will be sufficient. You can clip whole webpages, URLs, create notebooks, share information, create draft documents and add pdf files. It is an online tool but has apps for smart devices that will allow you to sync your notebooks across all of your devices so you’ll always be able to access your information. I love using this to keep track of my ideas while on the go.
The tools listed above were very helpful to reduce my mental load and allow me to stay on top of my priorities. I hope you are inspired to try some or all of the tools to organize your own life, and hopefully gain some mental space to live in the moment, and enjoy your family life.
There are obviously other tools that you may find useful and necessary in organizing your life, and I would love to hear about any tools that you would highly recommend!